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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29277327">Three Times Jonathan and Jane Watched A Movie Together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingmyInsanity/pseuds/ReleasingmyInsanity'>ReleasingmyInsanity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Highway to Heaven</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Cute Kids, Episode: s02e16 Keep Smiling, Episode: s04e18 We Have Forever Part 2, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Spoilers, mentions of past character death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:13:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29277327</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReleasingmyInsanity/pseuds/ReleasingmyInsanity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Exactly what it says on the tin. Three stories of Jonathan and Jane watching movies together. One many years before canon, one in Keep Smiling, and one in We Have Forever.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jane Thompson | Jennifer Simms &amp; Mandy Thompson, Jonathan Smith &amp; Mandy Thompson (Highway to Heaven), Jonathan Smith/Jane Thompson | Jennifer Simms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Chocolate Box - Round 6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1946</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karios/gifts">Karios</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jane and Arthur Thompson were having a rare date night. They didn’t go out very often, preferring to spend their evenings at home with their daughter. But tonight there was a movie they had especially wanted to see. While the film critics were unimpressed, Arthur and Jane had heard a lot of praise for <em>It’s A Wonderful Life</em> from their friends. And the premise intrigued them. “An angel shows a man what the world would be like without him” was very much their sort of plot.</p><p>The concept of angels was something both Jane and Arthur felt strongly about. People who helped others without wanting anything in return, whether they were actual angels or just people.</p><p><em>It’s a Wonderful Life </em>was every bit as enjoyable as the two had hoped. Plenty of humor, just the right level of emotions, and very convincing snow effects. The scenes with the angel Clarence were especially interesting, showing how much of an effect one person could have on an entire town.</p><p>Jane and Arthur walked home together after the movie. The theater was short walk from their house and it was a lovely night. As they walked they talked about the movie, laughing over some of their favorite scenes.</p><p>“Want to go break the windows on an old empty house together?” Jane tried for a neutral tone, barely holding in her laughter.</p><p>“Only if you’re planning to go dancing in a swimming pool with me beforehand,” Arthur said with a wink.</p><p>“Will you get me the moon then?”</p><p>Arthur gave Jane his most tender smile. “Always. All you have to do is ask.”</p><p>Jane smiled lovingly back. “I love you.”</p><p>“I love you too.”</p><p>“I wonder how many people’s lives I’ve improved without knowing it,” Arthur said as they turned onto their front path.</p><p>“Well,” Jane said, slipping her hand into his. “You’ve improved mine.”</p><p>“And you’ve definitely improved mine,” Arthur replied, turning to kiss her.</p><p>“Hi Mommy! Hi Daddy!” As soon as they entered the house, little Mandy appeared on the stairs, followed by her babysitter.</p><p>“Amanda, you’re supposed to be asleep,” Jane scolded. Arthur stifled a laugh, Mandy never liked going to bed, always wanting to stay up with the grownups.</p><p>“I can’t sleep until Daddy reads me a story,” Mandy said, clearly proud of her excuse.</p><p>Her babysitter looked apologetic. “I tried. I read her several stories, but she just wouldn’t fall asleep.”</p><p>“It’s all right,” Arthur assured her. “Sometimes we have the same problem.”</p><p>“We certainly do,” Jane agreed, walking up the stairs to take their daughter’s hand. “Come on Mandy, let’s get you back into bed while Daddy pays Colleen. And then we’ll <em>both</em> read you a story.”</p><p>Mandy’s eyes lit up at the promise of a story from both parents. “Okay, Mommy. Bye Colleen,” she said as Jane took her back to her room.</p><p>“Goodbye Mandy,” Colleen replied.</p><p>Arthur paid Colleen and waited to be sure that her car started before joining his family upstairs. When he reached Mandy’s room, she was already in bed, and she and Jane had picked out a story.</p><p>“Will you be a good girl and go to sleep when the story is over?” Arthur asked, gently brushing back his daughter’s hair.</p><p>“Uh huh!” Mandy’s face was a picture of perfect innocence. As though she wasn’t already planning to request another story after this one.</p><p>Arthur sat beside Jane, kissing her temple. “What are we reading tonight?”</p><p>Jane turned the book so he could see that Mandy had chosen <em>Curious George</em>. And sitting side by side on the edge of their daughter’s bed, Arthur and Jane read her a story.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I wrote this fic backwards. Chapter 3, then chapter 2, then chapter 1.</p><p>It was an interesting challenge to write the first chapter without much canon to go on. We meet the Thompsons over 40 years after this part takes place, so it’s almost like writing about entirely new characters.</p><p><em> It’s A Wonderful Life </em> actually won a special award for developing a new way to show snow on camera.</p><p>I tried to make Mandy a realistic small child, I hope I succeeded.</p><p><em> Curious George </em> was still a fairly new children’s book at this time, having only been out for a few years.</p><p>It’s a good thing I wanted a short story or I might have had Arthur and Jane read part of a <em> Little House </em> book to Mandy, because the idea made me laugh. (Michael Landon and Victor French having been in that show before <em> Highway to Heaven</em>.)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 1983</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jonathan knew he should be more subtle about how much he knew about Jane. Instead of doing all her favorite things and finding things he especially knew that she would like. But he didn’t want to stop seeing her smile. She had changed so much in forty years, yet she was still the woman he had fallen in love with. And even now that he was an angel, his love for her had never wavered. He thought about Jane every day, and still remembered every detail of their life together.</p><p>Jonathan suggested that they go to the movies, remembering the nights they had gotten a babysitter for Mandy and gone to see the latest picture. He didn’t care what they saw, much more interested in watching Jane.</p><p>Jane chose <em>Return of The Jedi</em>, saying that she and Margaret had watched the first two movies together. Her smile faded as she remembered her friend, so Jonathan cheered her up by talking about a few of the scenes. Suddenly very grateful to Mark for deciding to give him a lecture about recent movies in the car one day.</p><p>The two busybodies they ran into gave Jonathan an unexpected opportunity to be close to his wife. When Jane rested her head on his shoulder, his heart soared. It was the closest he had ever felt to flying on Earth. Laying his head on top of hers, he felt alive again.</p><p>“I hope people don’t become ghosts,” Jane remarked as a trailer played for <em>Ghostbusters</em>. “I’d much rather think that we become angels instead.”</p><p>Jonathan looked at her in surprise, but Jane was still watching the screen. Completely unaware of how apt her remark was. He ached to tell her the truth. That he was an angel, that he was her Arthur, that nothing in Heaven or Earth could stop him from loving her. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and kiss away every frown, every tear, every moment of sadness she had had in the forty years since he died.</p><p>But he knew that he couldn’t. He was lucky that The Boss had even sent him to Jane. He didn't usually send angels to help their own families. Angels were too close to those they loved to see objectively what they needed.</p><p>It had always surprised Jonathan that angels wouldn’t be able to push their own feelings aside and get the job done. But now he understood. It was almost impossible to remain objective on this assignment. Being so close to the woman he had always loved, and yet unable to hold and kiss her, hurt in a way he hadn’t known was possible.</p><p>Jonathan loved working with Mark, and he loved helping people. But in this moment he would have given it up in an instant if it would let him stay with Jane.</p><p>The movie was a good distraction from his thoughts. But not from the love for Jane that he felt in his soul. He thrived on watching her react to the action onscreen. The way she gave her full attention to the movie. The way she laughed when something funny happened. How she aww'd at the romance, and sighed happily when the spirits of the Jedi appeared at the end.</p><p>“Do you think my Arthur is watching over me like that?” Jane asked as the credits rolled.</p><p>Jonathan kissed her temple, ignoring the tittering gossips behind them. “I know he is.”</p><p>Jane patted his arm. “You’re a good person, Jonathan.”</p><p>He gave her hand a squeeze. “So are you, Jane.” It wasn’t the “I love you,” he wanted so much to say, but it would have to do.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I misremembered the year that “Keep Smiling” took place in when I looked to see what movies were in theaters, and by the time I’d realized that <em> Return of the Jedi </em> had been out for nearly two years, I’d already written part 2. So I just fudged the timeline.</p><p>I was stuck for quite a while on what to do with any of the movies for this period, but then I remembered the force ghosts, and that <em> Ghostbusters </em> came out the year after <em> Return of the Jedi</em>. And those gave me the idea.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. 1985</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jennifer and Jonathan sat on the couch together watching TV. Jonathan’s arm around her, her head resting on his shoulder, the same way they had watched <em>Return of The Jedi</em> together a couple of years earlier.</p>
<p>When Jennifer had discovered that <em>The Princess Bride</em> was on, she wanted to watch it. It had looked interesting while she was still Jane, but she had never gotten to see it. Now was her chance, and watching it with her love only made it more enjoyable.</p>
<p>“Death cannot stop true love,” Westley said on the screen. “All it can do is delay it for a while.”</p>
<p>Jennifer smiled softly. Westley’s line was written by authors who didn’t know if that was true. But she did. Death had not ended their love over forty years ago when Arthur died. And it hadn’t only a month and a half ago when Jane had also died.</p>
<p>There had been forty years of sorrow. Of feeling as though she were missing a part of herself every day as she carried on without him. But then God had given him back to her in the form of Jonathan. They had only gotten a short time together then, but she understood now why he had had to leave. His assignment was over.</p>
<p>She felt a little guilty about asking Jonathan on her deathbed if she would see her Arthur again. She knew now that it was a source of pain for him, but she truly hadn’t known. She had not understood then why this handsome young man reminded her so much of her husband. Knowing only that he brought her comfort. Now she understood everything and it only made her love him more.</p>
<p>Beside her, she had felt Jonathan stiffen at the line, had felt his arm tighten a little around her shoulders. She wished she could tell him the truth, to allay his feelings of guilt, to tell him that she was his Jane and that she loved him. That the reason he couldn’t join her in Heaven was because she was on Earth too. That he was needed to help people with Mark, and she was needed to help people with Ewe.</p>
<p>No matter how much Jennifer ached to tell him, she knew that she couldn’t. Telling him the truth would not help him, he needed to be all right without her. She knew that when their time together was over she had to give him back to Mark, so they could return to helping people. One day they would finally be able to spend eternity together, but not yet.</p>
<p>“Hey,” she said gently instead.</p>
<p>Jonathan turned to look at her and she could see that he was still bothered.</p>
<p>“Your wife loved you,” Jennifer told him, knowing far more than he did how true that was. “And I love you too.”</p>
<p>Jonathan finally smiled, “I love you too,” he said. And he kissed her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I was having writer’s block on this chapter, but then I watched this festivids video and had to pause halfway through to write it. https://archiveofourown.org/collections/festivids2020/works/28420248</p>
<p>It was fun to try to get into Jennifer’s head and figure out what it was like for her to have her husband as her first assignment.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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